broken.
An overwhelming sense of fragmentation, like a cold tide, permeated every inch of Qingxu Immortal Lord's senses.
The once vast and flawless power is now reduced to fragments colliding chaotically within broken meridians and a shattered sea of consciousness. The collapse of the newly formed Dao Seal is not merely a loss of power, but a collapse of the Dao foundation, a devastating blow to the very origin of life. An extreme sense of weakness permeates the deepest recesses of the soul, colder than death itself, a void and a sense of precariousness after the very foundation of existence has been stripped away.
He "looked" at his dantian—the place that had once nurtured the brilliant Dao Seal, symbolizing supreme potential and the future, now only a dim ruin remained. The fragments of the Dao Seal, like the remnants of stars, emitted a faint and chaotic light, barely keeping his body from immediately collapsing, but also severing any possibility of returning to his peak.
The cost was far more devastating than anyone could have imagined.
Yet, amidst the ruins of this power, a strange sense of certainty stands firm like a reef.
His perception was focused with unparalleled clarity on the other end of the soul connection.
The soul ice crystal, which was originally riddled with cracks, dim in light, and on the verge of being extinguished at any moment, is now undergoing a dramatic transformation.
The immense essence originating from the very core of his shattered Dao Seal, like the long river of life, continued to flow into the ice crystals. This was not gentle nourishment, but a forceful and thorough reshaping.
On the surface of the ice crystals, those shocking cracks were being healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. It was not a simple act of gluing, but rather the pure primordial power was meticulously filling and smoothing them, like the most skillful craftsman, leaving behind faint golden traces, like natural patterns, which were proof that his Dao seal fragments had been integrated into them.
Inside the ice crystal, the previously faint and flickering halo has now stabilized and is growing brighter. The light is no longer a dying gray, but a pure, milky-white radiance brimming with vitality, gentle yet firm, as if a miniature moon is being nurtured at the core of the ice crystal.
What made him tremble even more was the return of a sense of "weight." The ice crystals were no longer light and airy, as if they might dissipate at any moment, but had become solid and heavy. The soul fluctuations emanating from them, though still carrying the tranquility of slumber, were full of resilience, like seeds buried deep beneath the frozen earth, waiting to sprout after being tempered by the harsh winter.
She has calmed down.
It truly and fundamentally escaped the crisis of collapse.
He succeeded. At the cost of his own path being destroyed, he forcibly reversed the system's tilt and pulled her back from the brink of destruction.
A mixture of excruciating pain, weakness, and an indescribable sense of comfort spread through his empty heart. It was worth it. Whatever it took, as long as she could continue, it was worth it.
However, the Dark Gold Consciousness will never remain indifferent to this.
Just as Immortal Lord Qingxu was immersed in this bittersweet feeling, that cold, transcendent power descended once more.
This time, it lacked the crudeness of "observation" and the oppression of "urging," but instead carried an unprecedented, almost stagnant, scrutiny.
An invisible force swept over the ruins of the Dao imprint within his body, the wasteland of power, the remnants of data. Then, with even greater focus, it was directed at the soul ice crystal that was being reshaped and revitalized.
Immortal Lord Qingxu could clearly "hear" the almost illogical buzzing and reconstruction coming from the core of that cold will.
[...Error...serious logical conflict...]
[The container's self-destructive behavior... violates the principle of optimal evolution of the system... energy reversal... irreversible damage...]
[Anchor point status update: Structural stability greatly improved... Energy level significantly rebounded... Law resonance... Recalibrating in progress...]
[Assessment: The container's value has deteriorated sharply, falling below the minimum threshold for maintaining the symbiotic system. Anchor value... abnormally increased... unknown variables have intervened...]
[...redefining the core of the system...confusing priorities...unable to be parsed...]
The Dark Gold Consciousness, an entity that seemed to forever adhere to cold logic and prioritize efficiency, showed "confusion" for the first time. It couldn't understand Qingxu Immortal Lord's choice, nor could it incorporate the completely contradictory variables of "self-destruction" and "improving system stability" into its calculation model. All the "optimization solutions" it provided were based on one premise: the container (Qingxu) was the core and future of the system. But now, the core had self-destructed, and the anchor point (Su Nian), which was considered "redundant" or "consumable," had been reborn as a result.
This completely overturned its underlying operating logic.
After a long, suffocating silence, the Dark Gold Consciousness's thoughts became "clear" again, but the meaning they contained was different.
[Based on existing irreversible variables, conduct a system reconstruction assessment.]
A cold thought flowed through him, no longer attempting to "repair" Qingxu Immortal Lord, but instead defining his current state as "an established fact".
[Container (Qingxu): Status: Dao seal shattered, origin severely damaged, growth potential zero. Current value: Low (only maintains basic life signs and soul connection channel).]
[Anchor Point (Su Nian): Status: Structural reconstruction underway, origin steadily recovering, spiritual development increasing. Current Value: High (Contains unknown potential, exhibiting deep affinity with the Ice Soul Law).]
[New System Architecture: Anchor points are the potential core, with containers becoming auxiliary/foundational units. Initiating... Adaptive Observation Program 2.0... Focusing on the evolution path of anchor points...]
Immortal Lord Qingxu felt a chill run down his spine.
Just as expected. The Dark Gold Consciousness swiftly adjusted its strategy. It abandoned him, this "dead" vessel, and turned all its attention and "investment" towards the reborn Su Nian! His destruction not only secured life for her, but also made him a new target for the Dark Gold Consciousness's "observation" and "nurturing"!
Whether this is a blessing or a curse is unknown. The "cultivation" of dark gold consciousness is often accompanied by unpredictable risks and cold calculations.
Just then, the mutation of that soul ice crystal reached its peak.
The milky-white light suddenly receded, shrinking back to the very core of the ice crystal. That point of light became incredibly concentrated and pure, as if it contained a nascent universe.
Immediately afterwards, a faint yet incredibly clear throbbing, like the first beat of a newborn heart, entered Qingxu Immortal Lord's nearly desolate sea of consciousness through the soul link.
Thump...
It is light and slow, yet it carries a tenacious and undeniable vitality.
That wasn't a fluctuation of energy, but rather... the budding of consciousness!
Su Nian! Her consciousness, after experiencing the near-death silence and being nourished by his life-giving essence, began to awaken!
This newly formed, extremely fragile fluctuation of consciousness, like a pebble thrown into a lake, rippled across the still, lifeless heart of the Immortal Lord Qingxu. His entire being was drawn to this faint tremor, forgetting his own pain, forgetting the threat of the dark gold consciousness, leaving only a sense of almost devout protectiveness, as if something had been lost and then regained.
However, the Dark Gold consciousness reacted even faster.
[Anchor point consciousness activity detected... Beginning basic information injection... Initial spiritual guidance...]
A cold stream of thought, containing information from the basic laws of the "Ice Soul Condensation Technique" and some unknown guiding program, attempted to bypass Qingxu Immortal Lord and directly connect to the nascent light of consciousness in the ice crystal core!
"Don't even think about it!"
The remaining will of Immortal Lord Qingxu erupted with his last strength. Although he was powerless to resist the Dark Gold Consciousness, his shattered Dao Seal fragments and the soul link between him and Su Nian, which had been strengthened by his voluntary sacrifice, became the final barrier.
He forcefully guided the last remaining faint aura emanating from his own Dao Seal fragments, mixing it with his unwavering protective will, transforming it into a warm yet resilient "filter" that blocked the cold will of the Dark Gold Consciousness between Su Nian's newly formed consciousness.
The cold, dark gold consciousness crashed into the filter constructed of sacrifice and protection. Most of its cold logic and unknown guiding programs were weakened and isolated, leaving only the purest information about the fundamental laws of the "Ice Soul Condensation Technique," which, like a purified stream, slowly seeped into the nascent light of consciousness.
He couldn't completely stop it, but he wanted to make sure that what she first encountered wasn't pure, cold laws and calculations, but proof of his existence, his willingness to protect her at all costs... his heart.
The nascent light of consciousness within the ice crystal core trembled gently after receiving the filtered information and the warm, protective intent. It seemed somewhat "confused," swaying slightly in the pure, milky-white halo, like a newborn infant sensing this strange yet subtly familiar world.
Instinctively, it sent a faint, dependent response in the direction from which the protective intent came—to the broken soul of Immortal Lord Qingxu. It was not language, nor a formed thought, but simply a pure, warm sense of closeness, like the longing to be near a fire in winter.
This feedback, though faint, was real, dispelling some of the chill deep within Qingxu Immortal Lord's soul and bringing a little comfort.
The Dark Gold consciousness silently "observed" all of this.
[...The container (Qingxu) still possesses irreplaceable interference/filtering functions...and has a positive impact on the initial evolution of anchor points...and retains its value.]
[A new system balance has been initially established: the anchor point (Su Nian) is the core evolutionary unit, and the container (Qing Xu) serves as a protective filter and energy residue recycling station.]
[Continue to observe... and record the anomalies arising from the interaction between anchor consciousness and filtered information...]
"Energy residue recycling station..." Immortal Lord Qingxu caught this cold definition, but his heart remained unmoved. As long as it benefited her, he didn't care how he was defined.
He felt the faint sense of dependence emanating from that newborn consciousness, and felt the fragile new balance formed between his shattered Dao Imprint and that soul ice crystal, with her at its core.
He was no longer the immortal lord who needed her to "balance" the power and prevent him from falling into depravity.
He became the cornerstone of her new life, the first and last warm barrier she built to resist the cold, calculating unknown.
The path has been completely altered. The road ahead is one of even greater, unpredictable darkness. Can Su Nian's nascent spark of inspiration grow into her own unique self under the watchful gaze of the dark gold consciousness? And how long can his crippled body protect her?
Just as this new balance seemed to have been initially achieved—
The core of that soul ice crystal, after absorbing the basic laws of the "Ice Soul Condensation Technique" and the protective intent of Immortal Lord Qingxu, suddenly began to flicker violently and uncontrollably!
A fragment of extremely ancient and boundless consciousness, neither originating from Qingxu nor from the Dark Gold consciousness, seemed to be unexpectedly activated, like a slumbering dragon opening a slit in its eye, emanating from the depths of that point of light!
This ancient thought carries an ancient chill, yet it also contains a deeper mystery of laws that surpasses those recorded in the "Ice Soul Condensation Technique"!
The cold, dark gold consciousness instantly focused, emitting an unprecedented, slightly... astonishing fluctuation:
[Detected... An unknown inherited mark has awakened?! High-level encrypted information exists deep within the soul's origin of the anchor point (Su Nian)?!]
[...Reassess! Reassess! The potential value of the anchor point...exceeds the current observational limits! Warning! Significant unknown variables have emerged in the system!]
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(End of Chapter 43)
Next chapter preview: The ancient imprint deep within Su Nian's soul unexpectedly awakens, attracting astonishment and even greater attention from the Dark Gold Consciousness! Is this unknown inheritance a blessing or a curse? How will the broken body of Immortal Lord Qingxu face this sudden and earth-shattering change? Where will this variable, exceeding the limits of observation, lead this fragile symbiotic system?
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